Nippon Paint Middle East and Karwa Motors have entered a partnership to create a strategic investment initiative for the assembly and manufacturing of buses in Oman.
With funding and support by the State of Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman, Nippon Paint will work closely with Karwa Motors, in a green field project for bus assembly and manufacturing to “address the growing demand in the GCC and wider Middle East”.
In a statement, the firms said Nippon Paint was preferred as the exclusive paint solutions partner for Karwa Motors thanks to its innovative product and technical solutions, in addition to its value propositions.
Karwa Motors has invested in state-of-the-art infrastructure to address long-term demand in the region for buses and plans to cater to the luxury coaches, city buses and school bus segments.
While the FIFA World Cup 2022 is not mentioned directly, the firms stated initial orders executed under the new collaboration are for “the export of buses to Qatar for a major sport event to be held in 2022, with the Nippon Paint Technical Services team addressing the specific requirement for customised product, shade and technical solutions.”
“Nippon Paint, with its expertise in the Commercial Vehicles Business, is happy to associate with Karwa Motors and shall add value to the partnership through its innovative and best in class product and technical solutions ,” said Sharad Malhotra, director, Nippon Paint Middle East. “We have always strived to be a leader in the Augmented Finishing Solutions space and spread our reach across the world.
“The Middle East has been a critical market for us and this collaboration augers well for our long-term plans in the region. Leading edge and eco-friendly painting solutions have always defined our relationships and growth plans. This collaboration will give us an opportunity to showcase our extensive range of services and solutions.”
Alpansh Sharma, general manager, Nippon Middle East, added: “The demand for commercial vehicles and specifically buses and coaches in the Middle East continues to grow, considering the huge dependence on expats for the labour force. We would like to nurture this partnership with our extensive solutions and have a fruitful association for both the entities.”
Mikel Ecenarro, COO, Karwa Motors, said the Omani company shortlisted Nippon Paint amongst other major paint suppliers “owing to its innovative product capabilities, technical solutions and value propositions. We look forward to growing our businesses together in the long term”